The Killbox groaned as the Warden retaliated.
Varnaxis's petals of corruption flared open in a whorl of living shadow. Six spines grew from its back in one breath. The next, they launched—skewering the second defense ring. Entire squads of elite skeletons were ripped apart before they could even raise shields.
[Alert: Inner Wall Breach – Westward Bastion (Zone 17C)][Local Command Node: Down][Corruption Level Surge: +27%][Estimated Warden Stability: 92%]
Kael grimaced, standing atop a broken arc tower, directing Tyrant Assault Phalanx One.
His voice cut through the command channel.
"Phase Breakers, switch to multi-node strikes. Circle the bastard. We bleed it now or we die in waves."
Rael, shimmering in white mana threads, was re-anchoring purification sigils across fallen towers. Her hands were burned. Her lips were pale. But her eyes—glowed like twin stars under siege.
"If it breaches again, I'll invoke a Sanctum Pulse override. That thing is reaching into memory. Some of the skeletons are reanimating with wrong cores."
Iden remained still.
He stood in the Eye of the Killbox—the absolute center. His body hummed with potential energy. All around him, summoned units moved like tidal waves, launching bone-shard volleys, redirecting mana torrents, repairing downed turrets with desperate coordination.
[EXP: 38.6% (Level 50)][Active Summons: 1,010,000+][Warden Killbox Damage Absorbed: 14.3%][System: Awaiting Class Evolution Selection]
The two options still floated around him like divine offers carved in code and soul:
Bone Sovereign: Pure, overwhelming summoning might, war forged.
Godforged Architect: Strategic construction, alliance growth, and intelligent undead deployment.
But he didn't speak. Not yet.
He watched the Warden lash out again, this time unleashing an area-wide shriek that disrupted all ongoing mana formations.
Three towers exploded.
Fifty thousand summons turned to dust in one scream.
Nyra grunted, shielding a fallen medic as they raced through the inner barracks to plug the new breach. "Iden!" she shouted into her earpiece. "That thing isn't going to let you wait forever! Choose one and crush it already!"
He closed his eyes briefly.
"No," he muttered. "Not yet."
His hand drifted toward his side. A sigil etched in his palm began glowing faintly.
"This is more than a choice. It's a statement. Let it bleed me a little longer."
Despite the slaughter, Sanctum held.
Kael's Tyrants burned like shadows dipped in fire, one of them losing half its mass before pinning the Warden's left flank against the Killbox's reinforced wall. Rael's divine pulses held off the corruption waves just enough to stabilize the core pathways.
But morale was slipping.
And the Warden wasn't slowing down.
Varnaxis suddenly split its body apart—vertically—and a second eye bloomed within the rift. The battlefield shuddered as it let out a silent explosion of psychic corruption that made two weaker Summoners collapse on the spot, foaming at the mouth.
Even Kael staggered, bleeding from his nose.
"It's mutating again—Iden!" he barked. "This thing's about to hit Phase Three!"
Then… Silence
A pulse stopped the air.
Everything froze for one single breath.
And Iden finally moved.
He extended both arms outward. The two Class Evolution paths, still pulsing with light, merged into a final interface. Then—
[MYTHICAL CLASS EVOLUTION SELECTED]
Class Acquired: Bone Sovereign – Godforged Ascendant (Hybrid Fusion Variant)
• Unlocking new ability: Throne of the Ninefold Legion• Unlocking new structure: Ascendant Sanctum Core• New Command Limit: 1,376,256 → 2,752,512
A massive tremor surged through the battlefield.
Mana cracked above the Killbox like glass breaking. A radiant construct began descending from the heavens—a floating throne of living bone and runic steel, descending as if summoned by will alone. Behind it: nine spectral banners of unknown origin blazed with ancient sigils.
Every skeleton on the field stopped fighting and turned toward Iden.
They knelt.
Even the Tyrants bowed.
Rael gasped audibly.Kael muttered, "...Impossible."
The Warden paused mid-strike. Its spines retracted.
It felt it too.
And Iden stepped forward. His new armor—an elegant weave of blackened bone, glowing runes, and crownless filigree—shifted as he raised his hand toward the monstrosity.
"You want to see what a god looks like when cornered?""Then look."